Strictly's Claudia Winkleman admits heartbreaking farewell at home led to her taking risks

express.co.uk:

Claudia Winkleman was left heartbroken when her eldest son Jake flew the nest - but the distress she felt prompted her to move out of her comfort zone.

Before she knew it, the Strictly star was suddenly taking risks and "saying yes" to new projects - and that's what prompted her latest reality TV presenting gig, The Traitors.The TV host whisked 22 strangers off to a castle in a picturesque yet remote corner of the Scottish Highlands for a twisted psychological game show.The Traitors, which was filmed over the spring season and debuted this week on BBC One, has its fair share of plot twists.Claudia kicked off the 12-part show by interviewing each contestant in private and deciding which of them were cut out to be "traitors" who would betray their fellow castle inmates and which were "the faithful" who wouldn't harm a single soul.Yet she has now revealed that she may never have said yes to the project, were it not for her son leaving home.“But then my eldest left home for university and I was asked to do this show and I just thought, ‘I just can’t say no’."She then described filming the Traitors as being similar to "giving birth again", demonstrating the creative energy she poured into her endeavour.

Claudia added that she has accepted the ageing process, even if her skin has become "like crepe paper" - and that she now sees her 50s as an opportunity for a new challenge."I turned 50 and thought I’d start saying yes to things," she continued in an interview with The Sun.“We’re only here for two minutes, so I felt like I wanted to work a bit more and be less risk-averse."Just a few years earlier, Claudia had intentionally begun to scale down her projects so that she could spend more time with her children - 19-year-old Jake,.